Rail-joint connector.



w. n. CALVERT & H. L. PR YOR.

RAIL JOINT CONNECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR-211ml].

Patented Dec. 25, 1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET l.

INVENTOR WITNESS ATTO R N EY W12 Cal /art,

w. u. cALvH'n & u. L. PRYOR. RAIL JOINT CONNECTOR.

7 APPLICATION FILED APR. 21.1917- 1,251,337; Patented Dec. 25,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- INVENTOR WITNESS fiLZryoz:

ATTORNEY W. DJCALVERT & H. L. PRYOR'. RAIL-JOINT CONNECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR.2\. 1911.

1,251,337. Patented Dec. 25, 1917 3 SHEETS-SHEET a.

lN-VENTOR ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM D. CALVERT AND L. PRYOR, 0F BIG CLIFTY, KENTUCKY.

RAIL-JOINT CONNECTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 25, 1917.

Application filedApril 21, 1917. Serial No. 163,642.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that we, WILLIAM D. CAL- vnn'r and HENRY L. PRYoR, citizens of the United States, residing at Big Clifty, in the county of Grayson and State of Kentucky, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joint Connectors, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in means for facilitating the laying of railway rails,

In carrying out our invention it is our purpose to provide a device for this purpose of an extremely simple, cheap and li ht construction, readily manipulated by a single hand whereby rails for various lengths may be engaged and brought end to end for applying the angle bars and bolts to the rails.

lVith the above and other objects in view the improvement resides in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and falling within the scope of the appended claim.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating the application of the improvement,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same,

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view approximately on the line 33 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view approximately on the line 44 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a sectional view approximately on the line 55 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the members comprising the improvement, and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the other member.

igs. 8 and 9 are detail perspective views.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the numerals 11 designate two rails which are arranged upon ties 2-2.

Our improvement contemplates the employment of two channel members, indicated for distinction by the numerals 3 and 4. The channels are in the lower faces of both of the inner members 3 and 4 and the distance between the side flanges of the said channels may equal or may be slightly in excess of the width or thickness of the head or tread portions of the rails 1.

In accordance with the principle generally involved in laying rails upon ties, a number of hands are employed, the said rails being of a weight and length to prevent the same being readily handled or manipulated by a ingle person of ordinary strength.

The rails are dumped or otherwise placed upon the ties. It requiresthe strength of only an ordinary man to employ a fulcrum member such as a crow bar, to arrange two rails in alinement, but to bring the ends of the said rails into contacting engagement with each other will, as previously stated, require the strength of several ordinary men. By employing the fulcrum element the rails may be arranged almost in proper alinement or sufiiciently so to permit one of the members, say the member 3, being arranged over one of the rails and the member 4 arranged over the other rail, the said members being only spaced a comparatively slight distance away from each other as the hand employed for moving the rails upon the ties can readily bring the ends of the said rails into close proximity. When the rails are so arranged upon the ties we clam the confronting rails through the medium of hook-shaped clamping members 55 which pass through openings 66 in the top or outer portion of each of the channel members 3- and 4. The hook shaped clamps are arranged adjacent the outer ends of the members 3 and 4, and the outer walls provided by the openings 6 are disposed at an angle, whereby the shanks 7 of the said clamps will be brought into contacting relation with the said angular walls, indicated by the numerals 8, to bring the hook shaped ends of the same to engage beneath the head and with the said head as well as with the webs of the rails 1. The oppositely disposed clamps 5 have their shanks pivotally connected, as at 9, to the camshaped heads 10 of levers 11. The cam- .shaped heads 10 of each of the levers 11 are provided with a plurality of openings 12, so that the pivot member 9 may be properly arranged in any one of the openings, and the cam heads when brought to engage with the upper or outer surfaces of the members 3 and 4 will wing the clamps 5 upwardly or outwardly with respect to the said members and consequently bind the rails 1 in the channels of each of the members 3 and 4. It will be readily understood, and is readily discernible by reference to the drawings, that the levers 11, when swung to bring the clamps into locking engagement with the rails, are arranged at an angle with respect to the members 3 and 4, and consequently no independent means is necessitated for retaining the levers in such locking position, but it is to be understood that 1f desired any suitable means may be employed for engaging with the said levers to hold the clamps in tight engagement with the rails to lock the said rails to the members 3 and 4.

The member 3 at what We will term the inner end thereof is provided with spaced standards 1313, and between the said standards is arranged a longitudinally extending substantially rectangular housing 14.

Upon the upper face of the member t and extending longitudinally from the inner end thereof is a rack bar 15 which is designed to enter the housing 14, and pivotally secured between the standards 13 of the member 3 is a lever 16, the same having at its free end a pivotally secured dog 17 that is designed to engage with the teeth of the rack bar 15. The dog 17 is gravitatiously influenced and by the oscillating movement of the lever 16 it will be noted that the toothed end of the dog is brought to engage with the respective teeth of the rack bar 15, consequently moving the rack bar into the housing, when the lever i actuated to draw the ends of the rails 1 toward each other to permit of the association of the rails nd applying the angle bars and bolts to the rails.

From the above description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, th simplicity of the device, as well as the advantages thereof, will, it is thought, be apparent to those skilled in the art to which such invention appertain without further detailed description.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim is:

In a means for bringing the ends of alining rails into abutting engagement comprising two channel members each of which being disposed u on the head of the respective rails, said members having openings adjacent the outer ends thereof and the outer walls of the said openings being inclined, clamp members including shanks passing through the openings and having their inner end hooked, levers provided with camshaped heads adjustably connected with the shanks and designed when turned to one position to bring the clamps to rail-engaging position, a rack bar upon one of the members and extending over the second member, a housing upon the second member to receive the rack bar, standards connected-to the opposite sides of the housing, a lever pivoted between the standards, and a hook-shaped dog pivoted to the lever to engage with th teeth of the rack bar, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures.

WILLIAM D. CALVERT. HENRY L. PRYOR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0. 

